Welcome to Frank Pozen's Big Bad Blog. A lot of folks have been asking me to update them about my recovery. So I thought I would start a blog primarily to do that but also to talk about other topics of interest including the wrestling business and whatever else I can think of. I plan to update this on a regular basis so check back and leave a comment if you wish.

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Trio Da Paz are three Brazilian jazz musicians who got together after all three moved to the US. Drummer Duduka da Fonseca moved to the US in 1975 and played in groups like The Brazilian Express and New York Samba Band. Guitarist Romero Lobambo and bassist Nilson Matta both moved to New York City in 1985. All three guys worked as sidemen. Matta was in Don Pullen's band for three years. They formed Trio Da Paz in 1986 and they played New York clubs until they got the opportunity to record in 1992 with special guests Herbie Mann and Joanne Brackeen. They also recorded with Kenny Barron in 2004. This 2008 CD was recorded with vibraphonist Joe Locke at the 2007 JazzBaltica Festival in Germany. Locke wrote Sword Of Whispers and first recorded it with marimba master Christos Rafalides on the 2005 CD Van Gogh By Numbers and then the 2007 CD Sticks & Strings. Fans of Brazilian jazz will want to check out Trio Da Paz. Though Live At JazzBaltica is their latest CD, Trio Da Paz still tour the jazz festival circuit each summer. And all three guys lead their own bands and are jazz educators. Lobambo is currently touring with the Assad Brothers. Matta is teaching Samba Meets Jazz Workshops in New York City. And da Fonseca is leading his own quartet. They are all great musicians. Here's Trio Da Paz & Joe Locke performing Sword Of Whispers at the 2007 JazzBaltica Festival in Germany.

Friday, January 30, 2015

Yesterday the UFC announced that Amanda Nunes vs Shayna Baszler has been added UFC Fight Night 62 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That's a Fox Sports 1 show and I expect this fight to air on the prelims. Both fighters are coming off of losses but I think Amanda has a little more leeway. Amanda is from Brazil but she currently trains at MMA Masters in Florida. She likes to finish but she tends to run out of gas later in fights. In her last fight, Amanda dominated Cat Zingano in round one but then she lost by a third round TKO. She admitted afterwards that she ran out of gas after round one. That's something she needs to work on because she's not always going to get an early finish. Shayna is originally from South Dakota and now trains with Ronda Rousey at the Glendale Fight Club in Los Angeles. She's been around the sport for a long time. In TUF 18, she was thought to be the favourite to win but she lost to Julianna Pena in round one. After some injuries, she finally made her UFC debut in August and lost to Bethe Correia by second round TKO. That was a bad loss. That's someone she should have beaten. Amanda is very aggressive at the start of fights and I don't know if Shayna can hold her off and tire her out. If she loses, it could be the end of the road for Shayna. At least she could go into pro wrestling and work for PWG in Los Angeles. So I see this as a must win for Shayna.

Missing Persons never had a big hit single but they had some success in the early MTV days because of their videos and lead singer Dale Bozzio's sex appeal. She worked at the Boston Playboy Club in 1975. Hugh Hefner offered her a job at The Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Dale wanted to pursue acting. She met Frank Zappa when he played Boston and he hired her as a vocalist and brought her out to Los Angeles to work on Joe's Garage. Terry Bozzio was Zappa's drummer and the two married in 1979. They formed Missing Persons with Zappa guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, bassist Patrick O'Hearn and keyboard player Chuck Wild. Missing Persons released an EP independently which included Mental Hopscotch. It led to a deal with Capitol Records and the EP was rereleased in 1982. Their first full length album Spring Session M was released in Oct. 1982. The album was certified Gold despite the lack of a hit single. But their videos were in heavy rotation on MTV. Missing Persons recorded two more albums. Both were unsuccessful and Capitol was unhappy with them. Also, Dale and Terry weren't getting along and their marriage and the band ended in 1986. This comp is a good intro to their music. Dale Bozzio had modest solo success in 1988. Terry Bozzio went to work as a session musician and still does that today. So did Patrick O'Hearn and Chuck Wild. Warren Cuccurullo replaced Andy Taylor in Duran Duran and was a member through the 90s. After leaving Duran Duran in 2001, he formed a new version of Missing Persons with Dale Bozzio. That didn't work but they tried a couple of more times. They actually toured briefly in 2011 but according to Cuccurullo, Dale's weird behaviour scuttled the whole thing. Here's the video for Mental Hopscotch by Missing Persons.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Artist:Tony! Toni! Tone!
Song:If I Had No Loot
Album:20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best Of Tony! Toni! Tone!

Tony! Toni! Tone! was very successful mostly on the R & B charts from 1988 to 1996. If I Had No Loot was their biggest crossover hit. Tony! Toni! Tone! are from Oakland led by brothers Dwayne Wiggins on guitar and Raphael Wiggins on bass. Both guys sing and write most of the songs. The third member is cousin Timothy Christian Riley on drums. The group name started as a joke but they like it and kept it. They signed with the Mercury Records label Wing Records and their 1988 debut CD Who? was produced by Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy who also produced En Vogue. The single Little Walter topped the R & B charts. They really broke through with their 1990 CD The Revival. It was certified Platinum. They had four #1 R & B hits and Feels Good crossed over to pop and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. After singles appeared in the films House Party II and Boyz N the Hood, they released their third CD Sons Of Soul in 1993. It was certified 2XPlatinum and was their most successful album. If I Had No Loot reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Anniversary was also a top ten hit. When there were no hot singles from the 1996 CD House Of Music, Tony! Toni! Tone! split up. They weren't getting along anyway. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. Raphael Wiggins changed his name to Raphael Siddiq and has a significant career as a solo artist. He has said that Tony! Toni! Tone! needed to split as he wanted his own identity. Dwayne Wiggins has had success as a producer but not so much as a solo artist. So he reformed Tony! Toni! Tone! with Riley and a new lead singer and they still tour. Here's the video for If I Had No Loot by Tony! Toni! Tone!. This video is on Youtube in poor quality. I'm surprised it's not on Vevo. I found a better quality copy but I had to download the clip to bring it to you.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Yesterday someone called Sub Zero MMA tweeted and today it has been confirmed that Germaine De Randamie vs Larissa Pacheco has been added to UFC 184 Mar. 14 at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. I expect this fight to air on the UFC Fight Pass prelims. Germaine is probably one of the greatest female kickboxers of all time. But her transition to MMA has been shaky because she has no ground game and is vulnerable to takedowns. She is 1-1 in the UFC and lost her last fight to Amanda Nunes by first round TKO in Dec. 2013. She was supposed to fight last summer but pulled out due to injury. Germaine is originally from The Netherlands and now trains at American Kickboxing Academy in California. 20 year old Brazilian Larissa Pacheco came to the UFC as the Jungle Fight 135lb champ with a 10-0 record. Like a lot of foreign fighters, I suspected her record was heavily padded. In her UFC debut, Larissa lost to Jessica Andrade via first round guillotine choke at a show in Brazil in September. Maybe it's too soon for her to be in the UFC. We'll see if she does any better this time. I look at this as a must win for Germaine. If she doesn't show some improvement especially on the ground, maybe it's time for her to go to Glory or Lion Fight. She wouldn't be the first kickboxer to abandon MMA.

Artist:Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet
Song:The Man With Two Left Feet
Album:The 21st Century Trad Band

Jason Marsalis started out as a drummer but has taken up the vibraphone and has put together a pretty good quartet. The 21st Century Trad Band is his latest CD. He was born Mar. 4, 1977 in New Orleans the youngest son of pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr. Of course brothers Branford, Wynton and Delfeayo are all world famous jazz musicians. That's a very imposing pedigree. Jason played drums as a child. And at age 14, he appeared on his father's 1991 CD Heart Of Gold. He played as a sideman for a few years and recorded his debut as a leader The Year of the Drummer in 1998. Then he formed the Latin Jazz group Los Hombres Calientes with trumpeter Irvin Mayfield and drummer Bill Summers. That band was very successful but Jason left after two albums to work with pianist Marcus Roberts. He seemed to be more comfortable playing in Roberts' traditional jazz style. Jason has distanced himself from Los Hombres Calientes by saying it was Mayfield's band. From 2000 to 2009, Jason worked mainly as a sideman. Then when he released his 2009 CD Music Update, he's playing the vibraphone. Though no one knew that he played the vibes, he had been working on mastering the instrument for several years. Jason plays the two mallet style of Milt Jackson or Lionel Hampton as opposed to the four mallet style of Gary Burton. The 21st Century Trad Band was released Oct. 2014 and is Jason's third vibes CD. His band includes Austin Johnson on piano, Will Goble on bass and David Potter on drums. If you are only familiar with his brothers, be sure to check out Jason Marsalis. Here's the Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet performing The Man With Two Left Feet at KPLU in Seattle Nov. 2014.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Brett Okamoto of ESPN reported this afternoon and the UFC has confirmed that Julianna Pena vs Milana Dudieva has been added to UFC Fight Night 63 Apr. 4 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA. This will be an afternoon show on Fox Sports 1 in the US and TSN in Canada. Of course the last time we saw Julianna she won TUF 18. Then she blew out her knee during some gym horseplay. I think she's a pretty good fighter but who knows what she will be like post surgery. She may need a couple of fights to get her act together. The one thing I don't like about her is she sometimes has trouble controlling her emotions and that could get her into trouble in the cage. Milana is from Russia and won her UFC debut with a split decision win over Elizabeth Phillips in Macau in August. I actually scored that fight for Elizabeth but the fight was terrible and neither of them deserved to win. Milana admitted afterwards that she was very nervous and would do better next time. I'm not so sure as I have seen some of her other fights. I don't think she's that good. The UFC tried to get Milana to fight Holly Holm in December but I understand Milana got married instead. One interesting thing is Julianna and Elizabeth are teammates. Revenge is always great motivation. Julianna should be the favourite.

This morning Invicta announced their next show will be Feb. 27 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. There's a joint with a long history. It used to host awards shows, concerts along with pro wrestling and boxing. It's an old building so there hasn't been as much there recently. This show is the day before Ronda Rousey defends her UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship against Cat Zingano at the Staples Center. Invicta should get an attendance boost from that. This show will be on UFC Fight Pass and I will watch it on my new TV using Roku. No more sitting in front of a computer screen for me. Not surprisingly, Cris Cyborg will headline this show defending her belt against Charmaine Tweet. I don't see this fight getting past the first round. But that's besides the point. The elephant in the room is that Lorenzo Fertitta is once again in UFC contract talks with Cyborg. He has been clear that they are talking with her about 135lb. Of course she has never fought at 135. And she even announced a couple of months ago that she wouldn't try to drop to 135 anymore. I guess money talks. She has wasted so much time waffling about this for the last couple of years that I don't think she can be trusted to commit to 135. But this is the last fight of her Invicta contract and Fertitta may want to keep her from going to Bellator. Don't be surprised if Cyborg signs with the UFC right after this show. Other matches on the main card include Mexican Alexa Grasso vs MIZUKI. Alexa's last win in Invicta was a squash over Alida Gray. MIZUKI is a big step up in competition for her. MIZUKI lost her last fight by split decision to Karolina Kowalkiewicz because she was so concerned about defense she forgot about offense. We'll see if MIZUKI can correct that mistake. There could be a UFC contract in her future if she wins. There is no future for her in DEEP JEWELS. Mexican fighter Irene Aldana will face Melanie Lacroix. Irene was supposed to fight on the Dec. Invicta show but she got sick. Based on what I have seen of her, I like Alexa lot better than her. Melanie fought for EliteXC in 2008 so the promoter knows her. Then she took six years off and returned recently for BAMMA USA and has a 1-1 record. Should she even be on the main card? 6-0 DeAnna Bennett is dropping to 115 to fight Lynn Alvarez. On the Dec. Invicta show, DeAnna won over Jennifer Maia by unanimous decision. But I thought Jennifer won the fight. Obviously she is dropping to 115 to get to the UFC. I have seen Lynn before but I haven't been impressed with her. I don't see her winning this fight. In the prelims, Jamie Moyle will face JJ Aldrich. Both won their Invicta debuts. Brianna Van Buren will face Amy Cadwell Montenegro, Christine Stanley will face Emily Corso and Kristi Lopez will face Aspen Ladd. All six fighters will make their Invicta debuts and Aspen is a 19 year old making her pro debut. I don't pretend to know anything about them so I'll just watch the fights like the rest of you.

With his group The Dominoes, Justin Hinds was a pioneer of Jamaican music. Carry Go Bring Come was his first big hit in 1963. He was born May 7, 1942 in Steertown, Jamaica. After singing in clubs in Ocho Rios, Hinds moved to Kingston and signed with Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label. He recorded with Dennis Sinclair and Junior Dixon as Justin Hinds and the Dominoes. His backup band in the studio was usually Tommy McCook and the Supersonics. Carry Go Bring Come was his very first single in 1963 and it topped the Jamaican charts for two weeks. Though Hinds' early singles were typical of ska, he switched to the rock steady sound in 1966. So his music was significant at the time. Carry Go Bring Come was adopted by a new generation when the British band The Selecter covered it in 1980. So contemporary Jamaican music fans should be familiar with the song. Hinds faded in the late 60s and split with Reid in 1972. He recorded the 1976 album Jezebel with producer Jack Ruby. That album should have revived his career. But he was a reclusive guy and would occasionally record and perform live and then disappear. He just wasn't visible enough. His final studio recording was in 1992 and it was produced by Keith Richards. This live CD was released in 2002 and is available at a budget price. Justin Hinds died of lung cancer on Mar. 16, 2005 at age 62. Here's a video for Carry Go Bring Come by Justin Hinds.

Monday, January 26, 2015

With all the negative feedback for last night's Royal Rumble, maybe you all forgot to watch last night's episode of WWE Total Divas. So I PVRd it and watched it this morning. So look at this review and the video as a public service for those who missed it. And no, I didn't like the booking of last night's Royal Rumble. I laugh when Vince McMahon says he listens to the fans and then does the exact opposite as a "f__k you" to fans. This episode of Total Divas concentrates on the usual stupidity while glossing over more serious issues. We begin with The Bella Twins visiting Eva Marie and Jonathan after Eva's recent surgery. They are discussing Eva's new boobs and joking about Brie's lifestyle. Then to the inevitable brunch with Brie saying that it's rare that they all get together. That's obviously an inside joke by the producers as they frequently use meals to set up storylines as they do on this episode. They are talking about the recent break in at the Danielson household and that Brie will have to beef up security. Of course she goes overboard. Then we go to Los Angeles and Eva Marie gets a phone call that she is doing another photo shoot for Muscle & Fitness. She is concerned because she hasn't worked out since her surgery. We go to Tampa where Rosa Mendes and Paige are shopping. Rosa says Paige turns her on and misreads Paige's natural flirtiness as something more serious. This storyline is so stupid. Next we see that Eva Marie is struggling with her workout and Ariane expresses concern. The Danielsons have a new alarm system but Brie thinks they need a gun. Bryan says a gun won't stop prowlers. Next we go to Alicia Fox, her sister Christina Crawford, Rosa Mendes and Paige hanging out at Alicia's house. BTW, Christina was a WWE developmental wrestler and was on the most recent edition of Tough Enough. Paige leaves and Rosa tells Alicia that she has the hots for Paige. Alicia warns Rosa that she is misreading Paige but Rosa stupidly ignores that sound advice. Now we get to Eva Marie's problem. She thinks she's fat though she's not. Ariane is trying to get to the bottom of it. She asks Titus O'Neil to rate Eva's appearance on a 1-10 scale. He says she's a 10 but Ariane is an 8 because of her attitude. When she complains, he lowers his rating. That was funny. The Bella Twins and Nattie Neidhart are working out with Vince McMahon's personal trainer. When the subject of home security comes up, he tells Brie to get barbed wire which she calls "bob wire". Next Rosa, Alicia and Paige are out to dinner. At the end of the night, Rosa is waiting for a cab and she kisses Paige goodnight. Paige gives her the bad news that the romantic feelings aren't mutual. Rosa leaves in the cab. Brie tells Bryan about "bob wire". After he makes fun of that, he tells her she is being ridiculous. At the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Paige tells Alicia what happened with Rosa. Alicia tells Paige she told Rosa that she was misreading Paige. Paige doesn't think she did anything wrong. Maybe Rosa needs therapy. Ariane and Eva are shopping and Eva has a fainting spell. Now Ariane will do something about this. Brie is having "bob wire" installed. It's actually razor wire as Bryan points out. He's annoyed that she didn't discuss it with him. He tells her he's going to build a bomb shelter. She didn't get that joke. Alicia and Paige track down Rosa at a restaurant but she doesn't want to talk to them. Ariane and Jonathan are planning to confront Eva Marie's self image issues. While they're driving, Bryan convinces Brie to take down the "bob wire" if he starts a neighbourhood watch. He says she can't live in fear. Of course the funniest thing is how Brie keeps calling barbed wire "bob wire". We get to this apartment and Ariane wants to show Eva how she sees herself differently from how others see her. When she is shown the difference a light bulb goes on. The producers try to make it look like the problem is solved but she probably needs therapy. I don't know if that will be shown. Finally we have Paige apologizing to Rosa for giving her the wrong idea. For what it's worth, Paige would be better off staying away from a moron like Rosa but she wants to be friends with her. We finish with Eva Marie's photo shoot. Enjoy the video!
720pHD: WWE Total Divas 25/01/15 Season 3...by WWEDivasEvolution

Artist:Joe Simon
Song:Drowning In The Sea Of Love
Album:The Power Of Joe Simon

Joe Simon is an outstanding soul singer who had success mostly in the 70s with songs like Drowning In The Sea of Love. He left secular music for the ministry in the late 70s. He was born Sept. 2, 1943 in Simmesport, LA and he grew up singing in his dad's church. He decided to become a professional singer after his family moved to Oakland, CA. He sang with the Golden West Gospel Singers who became the Golden Tones in 1959. Simon recorded for Vee Jay just as they were going out of business in 1965. Then he recorded for Nashville DJ John Richbourg's Sound Stage 7 label and The Chokin' Kind reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969. That record won him a Grammy. Then he moved to the Polydor label Spring Records and legendary Philly Soul producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Their smooth production and Simon's country soul was a potent mix. Drowning In The Sea Of Love and Power Of Love both reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also wrote the music for the 1973 film Cleopatra Jones. Simon also scored with the 1975 disco song Get Down, Get Down. Unfortunately there isn't a comprehensive Joe Simon comp in print right now. But Ace Records has added Drowning In The Sea Of Love to this release of The Power Of Joe Simon. By the late 70s, Simon decided to follow in his dad's footsteps and become a preacher in Illinois. He still does that and has recorded gospel occasionally. Here's a video for Drowning In The Sea Of Love by Joe Simon.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Leon Russell has had so much success as a songwriter and producer, it's easy to forget that he scored hits as a solo artist. Tight Rope was the biggest of these hits in 1972. He was born Claude Russell Bridges Apr. 2, 1942 Lawton, OK and grew up in Tulsa. As a teen, his band The Starlighters played local clubs. After graduating high school, Russell moved to Los Angeles and was part of the studio musician collective known as The Wrecking Crew. while working for producer Snuff Garrett, Russell had his earliest success writing and producing Gary Lewis & The Playboys. He co-wrote the 1965 top five hit Everybody Loves A Clown. By the late 60s, Russell toured with Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, George Harrison and Joe Cocker. Then he formed his own label Shelter Records with producer Denny Cordell. Among those who recorded for Shelter were JJ Cale, The Gap Band, Freddie King and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Russell also recorded his 1970 solo album Leon Russell. He didn't have any hits but A Song For You was a monster hit for The Carpenters. Tight Rope was on Russell's second album Carney. It reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Russell also recorded as country singer Hank Wilson and with his wife Mary McCreary. His song This Masquerade which was the B side of Tight Rope was a smash hit for George Benson in 1975. Russell had success in 1979 recording with Willie Nelson. And after a couple of years touring with his bluegrass band New Grass Revival, Russell drifted into obscurity for the 80s and 90s. This comp on The Right Stuff is a good intro to Russell's music. Elton John sought him to record the 2010 CD The Union. Despite health problems, the album and subsequent tour was a huge success. Leon Russell is back. Russell's latest CD Life Journey was released Apr. 2014 and he is currently on tour. Here's Leon Russell performing Tight Rope from the 2002 DVD A Song For You.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

When a debut single tops the charts as Stay did in 1994, it's all downhill from there. And in Lisa Loeb's case, she didn't even have a record deal at the time. The song rode the success of the 1994 film Reality Bites. Lisa was born Mar. 11, 1968 in Bethesda, MD and grew up in Dallas where her dad was a doctor and her mom was a hospital administrator. Her brother Benjamin Loeb is a classical pianist, sister Debbie Loeb is an electronic dance music producer, brother Phillip Loeb is a recording engineer. Lisa graduated from Brown University with a degree in comparative literature in 1990. She formed Liz and Lisa with roommate Elizabeth Mitchell and guitarist Duncan Sheik. They released a couple of albums independently and then Lisa studied at Berklee in Boston and formed her band Nine Stories. She recorded a cassette that she would sell at gigs. She was playing mostly in the New York area and record companies were showing interest. One of her neighbours in New York City was actor Ethan Hawke. He liked the song Stay and gave it to Reality Bites director Ben Stiller and producer Stacy Sher and they played it over the end credits. It appeared on the soundtrack and they shot a video and released Stay as a single. It shot to the top of the charts. And remember Lisa was unsigned. She soon signed with Geffen Records and her 1995 CD Tails was certified Gold. Her 1997 CD Firecracker was also certified Gold. But Stay turned out to be her only top ten hit. This budget comp is a good intro to her music. She has also recorded for A & M, Artemis and Zoe. Her latest CD No Fairy Tale was released in 2013 on 429 Records. She still tours. She has recorded children's music and written children's books. She's done the reality shows Dweezil & Lisa with then boyfriend Dweezil Zappa on The Food Network in 2004 and Number 1 Single for E! in 2006. She has turned up occasionally on TV, most recently on the Netflix show Orange Is The New Black. And she has her own eyewear line. I give her credit for taking a fluke hit single and turning it into a long term career. Here's the video for Stay (I Missed You) by Lisa Loeb.

Friday, January 23, 2015

British soul singer Mica Paris had all the tools to be a star. It just didn't happen. My One Temptation was her biggest hit in England in 1988. Today she is known for her work on British TV. She was born Michelle Wallen Apr. 27, 1969 in London, England. Mica is a childhood nickname. Her sister is singer Alysha Warren. They grew up singing in church and Mica was a featured vocalist with The Spirit of Watts gospel choir. While she was singing backup with Hollywood Beyond in 1987, she signed with Island's 4th & Broadway label. So Good was her 1988 debut album. My One Temptation reached #7 on the British Singles chart. The album was certified Platinum in England. But she was unable to break through in a big way in the US. Most of So Good including My One Temptation was written and produced by the production duo L'Equipe. They are Miles Waters and Peter Vale and they also produced Jim Capaldi. Special guests on the album included veteran soul singer Will Downing, The Christians lead singer Roger Christian and British sax player Courtney Pine. My One Temptation would turn out to be Mica's biggest hit. She recorded three albums for Island and one for Chrysalis. She last recorded in 2009 and she still performs occasionally. But in recent years Mica has appeared as a TV host on among other things What Not To Wear on BBC. She became a fashion guru and wrote the book Beautiful Within in 2008. She currently works for ITV and has appeared on CelebAir and This Morning. Here's the video for My One Temptation by Mica Paris.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Though he has been around for over fifty years, British singer songwriter Al Stewart is mainly known for his mid-70s hit singles Time Passages and Year of the Cat. He was born Sept. 5, 1945 in Glasgow, Scotland. His father was a lieutenant in the RAF and died in a plane crash before Stewart's birth. His mom moved the family to Wimborne, England. Lonnie Donegan inspired Stewart to play guitar and he was in a couple of early 60s bands. He was influenced by Bob Dylan's success to try folk music and he played London folk clubs. He even lived with Paul Simon when Simon lived briefly in England. Then he got into session work and recorded the single The Elf for Decca in 1966. Jimmy Page played guitar on it. it was unsuccessful but it got Stewart a record deal with CBS. He recorded six albums for CBS that were critically acclaimed but flops. Only one of those six albums was released in the US on Janus Records. Things seemed to turn around for Stewart when he started working with producer Alan Parsons in 1975. He signed a new record deal with RCA and when Year of the Cat reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, Stewart signed with Arista in the US. Time Passages was his first album on Arista and the single reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Stewart wrote it with his guitarist Peter White who also plays the guitar solo. He is now a jazz musician. The sax solo is by session musician Phil Kenzie. You can get both hits on this Rhino comp. Stewart left RCA and Arista in 1980. And though he has never scored another hit single, he has recorded for EMI in England for years and for various labels in the US. His most recent CD was released in 2009. Stewart has lived in Los Angeles since Year of the Cat and he still performs regularly. Here's Al Stewart with Dave Camp on sax and Peter White on guitar performing Time Passages Antwerp, Belgium 1988.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

With Ham Seo Hee vacating the DEEP JEWELS Featherweight Championship for the UFC, DEEP JEWELS announced that a tournament will begin on the Feb. 21 Shinjuku FACE show. There are eight fighters in this tournament and there will be four first round matches on this show. Then they will have the semi finals and then the finals on upcoming shows. The eight fighters participating are as follows: VV Mei, Emi Tomimatsu, Tomo Maesawa, Ayaka Miura, SARAMI, Mina Kurobe, Yukiko Seki and Masako Yoshida. The most notable thing is who isn't in this tournament and the biggest name missing is Ayaka Hamasaki. I'm not surprised as she wants to fight in Invicta and I'm pretty sure she will be on an upcoming show. The other MIA fighters are Saori Ishioka and Naho "Sugi Rock" Sugiyama. Sugi Rock has had knee problems for a while now and it doesn't seem to be improving. Ishioka had an eye problem and may not be ready. Considering who is left, the tournament would be better with four fighters. But it would only take up two shows and with DEEP JEWELS' low talent level, they need to fill as much time as they can. The favourite should be VV Mei. But remember she just lost to Ayaka so this is sloppy seconds. Tomimatsu has never fought at 48kg. Should her first fight at that weight be in a tournament? Of course not but that shows how low the talent level is. And she's not that good. Tomo Maesawa is 4-4 and has bounced between 52 and 48kg. Again, not a great fighter. This is also Ayaka Miura's first fight at 48kg. Her record is 1-1 and her last fight was a loss to Emi Fujino. SARAMI has a 4-5 record. She won her last fight over Korean idol fighter Ga Yeon Song. But that doesn't mean she can beat any of these fighters. In fact, Mina Kurobe beat her in Nov. She's 4-0 but she's also 37 years old. And though normally I wouldn't consider veteran midcard fighters like Seki or Yoshida for this tournament, the talent level is so low they could win and move on to the semis. It depends on the matchups and DEEP JEWELS hasn't said how and when those will be determined. They have announced that MIYOKO vs Miki Araki will be a reserve match. MIYOKO is a veteran low level fighter. her record is 5-8. Miki appears to be a newcomer. she trains at Reversal Tachikawa ALPHA. DEEP JEWELS hasn't named a main event yet so stay tuned for more details as they become available.

I bet you remember this song even if you don't remember the group. And though T'Pau was a one hit wonder in North America, they were successful in their native England where Heart and Soul wasn't even their biggest hit. They called themselves Talking America when they formed in 1986 in Shropshire, England and then named themselves after a Vulcan character in Star Trek. Lead singer Carol Decker and guitarist Ronnie Rogers were in a relationship and wrote all the songs together. Other band members were Tim Burgess on drums, Michael Chetwood on keyboards and Paul Jackson on bass. Taj Wyzgowski was the original lead guitarist. Dean Howard replaced him in 1987. T'Pau signed with Virgin Records and their debut album Bridge Of Spies was produced by veteran producer Roy Thomas Baker. Heart and Soul flopped when it was first released and I don't think the album was going to be released in North America. But then the song was used in a Pepe Jeans ad and radio stations got requests to play it. It reached #4 on the Billboard hot 100 and the British Singles chart. The song has a repetitive chorus and doesn't have much in the way of verses. Though Heart and Soul was T'Pau's only US hit, the single China In Your Hand topped the British charts. T'Pau recorded three albums and were fading in 1991 when they decided to split up. This EMI Europe comp is a good intro to their music. Carol Decker and Ron Rogers split up in 1993. Carol formed a new T'Pau and they recorded new music in 1998. They have recorded a couple of live CDs and still tour England. Carol was the runner up to Shakin' Stevens in the British version of the TV show Hit Me Baby One More Time. Here's the video for Heart and Soul by T'Pau.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

The UFC announced today that Liz Carmouche vs Lauren Murphy has been added to UFC Fight Night 63 Apr. 4 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA. Since Liz was in the very first women's match in the UFC, it's been tough going for her. Last time we saw her she was losing a unanimous decision to Miesha Tate last April. Neither fighter was very impressive but Liz didn't do enough in the first two rounds to offset Miesha's dominant third round. Her trainer Manny Hernandez told her she needed to be more active in top position and she beat herself by not doing that. I actually scored the fight a draw. But Liz is now 1-3 in the UFC and this could be a must win for her or she risks getting cut. Lauren is a former Invicta champ who debuted in the UFC last August. She lost a split decision to Sara McMann but I scored it for Lauren. Sara was the heavy favourite going into the fight but she fought a safe fight and was lucky to squeak out a win. Lauren prefers striking but she showed in that fight that her ground defense is pretty good. She is originally from Alaska but she now trains at PLab in Phoenix. She will want to keep this fight standing. But Liz could take her down and turn it into another lay and pray split decision squeaker. Geez, I hope not.

Etienne Daho emerged in the 80s as one of France's most popular and durable pop singers. Epaule Tattoo is one of his early hits. He would become even more popular in the 90s. He was born Jan. 14, 1957 in Oran, Algeria. His father was a French soldier. Daho was raised by his grandparents who owned a cafe. And he got interested in music by listening to their jukebox. His family moved to Rennes, France in 1965. Daho has credited The Velvet Underground as his biggest influence. In the 70s, he was in bands like Stinky Toys and Marquis de Sade. Marquis de Sade guitarist Frank Darcel helped Daho develop his music and Daho signed with Virgin Records in 1980. Then Daho worked with singer Arnold Turboust. Daho finally had success with the 1986 album Pop Satori and the single Epaule Tattoo. The album was produced by famed producer William Orbit in his early days. Since then Daho has been very successful with several best selling albums and singles. Virgin had Daho record in English in 1989 but there unable to sell him in English speaking countries. This comp CD is a good intro to Daho's music. Daho still records regularly and I guess he's a bit of an elder statesman of French pop music. His 80s recordings will appeal to synth pop fans. Here's the video for Epaule Tattoo by Etienne Daho.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Here's the video of last night's episode of WWE Total Divas. On this week's episode, we get a look at a common health issue for WWE Divas turned into an exercise in stubborn stupidity. We get a pointless competition storyline stolen from other Bunim Murray reality shows. And we have the return of Nattie Neidhart's prudish alter ego Grandma Nattie. As usual, we begin with a brief unrelated segment in Kansas City. The girls are watching a match with Brie Bella vs Summer Rae. When Nattie and the others talk trash about Summer Rae, Paige sticks up for her because Summer was nice to her. Then we go to John Cena and Nikki Bella at the gym owned by Cena's pal Rob McIntyre. When Nikki says she runs faster than Cena, McIntyre suggests a competition to see who is better. This is a timewaster stolen from other reality shows. McIntyre will devise this nonsense. Then we go to Los Angeles where Eva Marie is having trouble with her breast implants. She's had them for nine years so they probably need to be replaced. This is a common problem for female wrestlers who have implants especially older silicone ones. Of course Eva isn't really a wrestler. But she thinks she is. Husband Jonathan convinces her to go to the doctor. Next we go to Las Vegas and Paige vs Nattie. Paige is doing this shtick where she crawls suggestively over her downed opponent usually followed by headbutts. Afterwards, Grandma Nattie tells Paige she doesn't like that stuff. Paige agrees not to do it in their matches. Yeah, right. Of course the show producers don't reveal the context. At the time, Paige was the heel in a "frenemies" angle with AJ Lee. And this behaviour was supposed to enhance her heel character. This was approved by WWE management. Of course Grandma Nattie knows this meaning this conflict was contrived by the show producers to make Nattie look foolish. Next Eva Marie goes to the doctor. At brunch, Grandma Nattie continues to complain about Paige. Eva gets a phone call from the doctor's office that her implants are leaking and must be removed. Stupidly, she chooses to delay this. In Seattle, Nikki explains this competition to the girls and they do tell her she's being silly. They show a clip of Eva Marie beating AJ Lee to show that she's getting a push. Or at least what she thought was a push. Then we have the first part of this competition at a go kart track. Nikki is taking this competition way too seriously. Of course when Cena wins, she complains that he cheated. Next is mini golf and when Cena wins again, she complains that he cheated. The same thing happens in the batting cage and Skee Ball. And he's goofing around so that really pisses Nikki off. Next Eva Marie tells Jonathan that she has cancelled her surgery. Of course they argue about this. she doesn't seem to appreciate how serious this is. He leaves a voice mail for WWE Talent relations stooge Mark Carrano which upsets her. Next we go to the final event in this competition. Would you believe beer pong? And Cena is dressed like a preppie. When Cena inevitably wins, Nikki throws a beer in his face. After the commercial, Nikki admits she took it too seriously and all is well. So why did the producers do this again? Never mind. Eva Marie and Jonathan argue again. Then she goes to have dinner with The Bella Twins. Wait a minute. Isn't Nikki supposed to be mad at Brie? No explanation. The good thing is they convince Eva to have the surgery. They convince her that she won't lose her spot. In Houston, Nattie thinks she has convinced Paige to not do what Nattie thinks is suggestive business. Paige agrees to this. But in the match, Paige licks her face among other things. When Nattie confronts her afterwards, Paige says she knows exactly what she's doing and did Nattie listen to the crowd reaction. Nattie finally agrees that maybe Paige is smarter than she thinks. The episode ends with Eva Marie coming home after her surgery. She will be off for a couple of months. Who knows what would have happened if she hadn't has the surgery. Enjoy the video!
Total.Divas.S03E13by watchwwelive

Fabian Forte had three top ten hits in 1959. Tiger was the biggest of those hits. When music fans figured out he couldn't sing, Forte switched to acting. He's had a long acting career mostly on TV. He was born Feb. 6, 1942 in Philadelphia. Chancellor Records owner Bob Marcucci was looking for handsome teenage boys that he could turn into pop singers. He didn't care if they could sing. Marcucci was at a friend's house who lived next door to the Forte family. Fabian's dad suffered a heart attack. and while an ambulance was taking him to hospital, Marcucci spotted Fabian and gave him his card. He resisted at first but eventually his family agreed to let Fabian record. Frankie Avalon knew Fabian and recommended him as well. Marcucci soon realized that Fabian couldn't sing but he thought he could sell him anyway. Fabian appeared on American Bandstand after meeting Dick Clark. They gave him I'm A Man written by the legendary songwriting team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. It was Fabian's first top 40 hit. Then Marcucci really turned up the juice and Fabian's next three singles were top ten hits. First there was Turn Me Loose, then Hound Dog Man. Tiger was the biggest of these hits. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Philly doo wop guy Ollie Jones who also wrote the 1957 Nat King Cole hit Send For Me. Fabian's music career ended when he testified during the early 60s payola hearings. You can get all his hits on this Ace Records comp. He acted in some films for 20th Century Fox and then he signed a seven picture deal with American International Pictures in 1965. His biggest hit was the 1966 film Fireball 500. He did a lot of TV guest shots in the 70s. He still sings occasionally and when he does, he tours with his old pal Frankie Avalon. Here's Fabian performing Tiger on The Ed Sullivan Show 1959.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Last night the UFC announced several matches for UFC 186 Apr. 25 at the Bell Centre in Montreal including Jessica Rakoczy vs Valerie Letourneau. This fight will be on the prelims. Both fighters are Canadian. I think most fans will be familiar with them as Bantamweights but this fight is at Strawweight. I think both are natural 125lb fighters and given a choice would prefer to fight at 115. Jessica is from Hamilton, ON and is a former boxing champ attempting to convert to MMA. The last time we saw her was in the TUF 18 Finale losing to Juliana Pena. At the time, she was nursing a shoulder injury. And she is undersized for Bantamweight. I heard about her dropping to 115 last year. Of course Jessica's biggest problem is she has no ground game. Valerie is from Montreal and she used to train at Tri Star. She now trains at America's Top Team in Florida. She failed to make TUF 18 but got into the UFC as a late replacement and won over Elizabeth Phillips by split decision. She is also more striker than wrestler. Valerie has fought at 125 and 135. But I think this will be her first fight at 115. One would think these two would want to keep the fight standing. But one never knows what may happen.

Anthony Newley was a triple threat as an actor, singer and songwriter. What Kind Of Fool Am I? is probably one of his best known songs from his 1961 musical Stop The World, I Want To Get Off. He was born Sept. 24, 1931 in London, England. His parents split up when he was a child and Newley was raised by his aunt and uncle in the countryside. He met retired music hall performer George Pescud who taught him performing. After WWII, Newley moved to London hoping to be discovered. His big break was as the Artful Dodger in David Lean's 1948 film Oliver Twist. After a stint in the army, he appeared frequently on radio. The film that made him a star in England was Idle On Parade in 1959 which was influenced by Elvis Presley being drafted. This led to a record contract with Decca and hit singles in England like I've Waited So Long, Why, Do You Mind and Strawberry Fair. So Newley could have been a pop star. But instead he created his own Broadway show with Leslie Bricusse Stop The World, I Want To Get Off. What Kind Of Fool Am I? closed the show and it became one of Newley's most popular songs. Many artists have covered it but the most notable was Sammy Davis Jr. Newley and Bricusse wrote many songs together including the theme for the 1964 film Goldfinger. This budget CD from Universal's British distributor Spectrum covers Newley's Decca recordings from 1959-65. Newley wasn't that active as a recording artist after that. But he continued to write shows and appear on stage, films and TV for decades. Anthony Newley died of cancer on Apr. 14, 1999 at age 67. Here's Anthony Newley performing What Kind Of Fool Am I? on The Hollywood Palace 1969.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Soul singer Tyrone Davis is probably best known for his 60s hits like Can I Change My Mind and Turn Back The Hands of Time. But he also had success in the late 70s when he moved from Dakar/Brunswick to Columbia. In 1975, Davis returned to the top of the R & B charts with Turning Point. This song was written and produced by Leo Graham who had worked with Davis previously. Soon after, Davis left Brunswick and took Graham with him. Graham produced several hits for Davis at Columbia including Give it Up (Turn It Loose) in 1976 and This I Swear in 1977. In The Mood was Davis' final top ten R & B hit on Columbia in 1979. The song was written by Paul Richmond, Darryl Ellis and Ruben Locke. Richmond was a bassist who worked frequently with Graham. All three guys were members of the 80s R & B group Amuzement Park. Graham went on to write and produce Shining Star for The Manhattans. This Rhino budget CD covers Davis' entire career. Davis and Graham left Columbia for Highrise Records. His first single for Highrise Are You Serious was Davis' final top ten R & B hit in 1983. He only recorded one album for Highrise and bounced around several small labels. He recorded for Ichiban and Malaco in the 90s and continued to tour until he suffered a stroke and died Feb. 9, 2005 at age 66. Here's Tyrone Davis performing In The Mood.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Jazz singer Cecile McLorin Salvant made a big splash when her 2013 US debut CD WomanChild zoomed to the top of the jazz charts. She trained in France but she was born Aug. 28, 1989 in Miami. Her mother is French and her father is Haitian. She took piano and singing lessons as a child. After graduating from high school, Cecile moved to France and studied classical voice at the Darius Milhaud Conservatory. She got into jazz working with sax player Jean-Francois Bonnel. And she released a CD in France in 2009. Her big break came when she won the 2010 Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal competition which has been a springboard for other jazz singers. Cecile appeared on French pianist Jacky Terrasson's 2012 CD Gouache. Then she signed with Mack Avenue Records. WomanChild is her 2013 Mack Avenue debut. It reached #3 on the jazz charts. So now there is a lot of buzz about her. Her backup band are guys who work at Jazz At Lincoln Center. The pianist and arranger is Aaron Diehl along with James Chirillo on guitar, Rodney Whitaker on bass and Herlin Riley on drums. You Bring Out The Savage In Me is a tribute to now forgotten jazz singer Valaida Snow who had success with her 1935 recording of the song. It was written by legendary songwriter Sam Coslow for the 1935 film Oh, Daddy. Cecile won four categories in the 2014 Down Beat Critics Poll mostly as a rising star. She is currently touring France. But I think we'll see her on the jazz festival circuit this summer. If she comes to Toronto, I may go see her. Here's Cecile McLorin Salvant performing You Bring Out The Savage In Me at The Addition in San Francisco Nov. 2014.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

The UFC announced on last night's episode of UFC Tonight that Felice Herrig will face Paige VanZant on UFC on FOX 15 Apr. 18 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. I expect this Battle of the Blondes to be on the main card of that show. Paige was supposed to be on TUF 20 but was too young to be in the house. She won her UFC debut over Kailin Curran. As I said when that fight was announced, I didn't think it belonged on a UFC show and was better suited for the Invicta prelims. After Paige won, all of these supposed experts were calling her a rising star. I'm not so sure because I don't think Kailin is a UFC caliber fighter. Of course Felice is a lot more experienced. So I think she's a decent test for Paige. Felice is mainly a kickboxer who tends to have problems against opponents who have good ground games. We saw this in the TUF 20 house when she fought Randa Markos. Felice won easily over Lisa Ellis on the TUF Finale. But Lisa is undersized. She really should be fighting at 105lb. And she had a bad knee. And she has a daughter at home and seems conflicted about fighting these days. UFC money is such a temptation. The one thing I like about Felice is that win or lose, she is an awesome self promoter. The UFC should have her teach self promotion to fighters because plenty of them need help. So I expect a lot of exhibitionism especially at the weigh ins. I'm not sure how good the fight will be.

The UFC announced on last night's episode of UFC Tonight that Carla Esparza will defend her UFC Women's Strawweight Championship against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 185 Mar. 14 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. This fight will co-headline with Anthony Pettis defending his UFC Lightweight Championship against Rafael Dos Anjos. Joanna is the first Polish fighter to get a UFC title shot. She is a former European Muay Thai champ. As we have seen in her fights to date, Joanna can really punch. But she is also very well coached and as we saw in her win over Claudia Gadelha, she has excellent ground defense. And it was her defense and that one knockdown at the end of round one that won her that fight by split decision. Carla is an All American wrestler who has improved over the last couple of years and she navigated the land mine that is TUF 20 to win this championship. She knows that Joanna could knock her out. She will want to take Joanna down. But to win, she has to do more than just score takedowns. For me, the big question mark about Joanna is does she have the endurance to go five rounds as she's never done that before. If she goes for the big KO and doesn't get it, can she pace herself over five rounds. And on the flip side, Carla could gas out going for takedowns and leave herself open for the big punch. I'm looking for an epic fight from these two elite athletes. And I think this shows that the Strawweight division will be very competitive as there are several challengers waiting in the wings. Remember that most fans hadn't heard of Joanna until recently.

Parmalee has been around for over a decade but are just now having success on the country music charts. I would describe them as country rock with bluegrass roots. They are a family group from Parmele, NC which is near Greenville. They added the extra "e" so the band name would be pronounced properly. Lead singer and guitarist Matt Thomas, his brother Scott Thomas (drums) and cousin Barry Knox (bass) have played together since they were kids in father Jerry Thomas' bluegrass group. When dad retired, the boys added childhood pal Josh McSwain on guitar and performed as The Thomas Brothers. They got a publishing deal and veteran producer David Bendeth signed them to his Deep South label. The band name changed to Parmalee. They recorded an album and two EPs but went nowhere. Then a near tragedy in Sept. 2010. The had just finished a show in Rock Hill, SC and were leaving in their van when two armed robbers approached. Scott Thomas came out of the back of the van with a gun. He was shot and one of the robbers was killed. Scott recovered in 2011. They met producer David Fanning of New Voice Entertainment and he signed Parmalee to Broken Bow's Stoney Creek label. New Voice also produced Thompson Square and all except Fanning are in Jason Aldean's touring band. The single Carolina reached #2 on the Country Singles chart and Close Your Eyes reached #11. The CD Feels Like Carolina did well. Though Parmalee write a lot of their own songs, Close Your Eyes was written by Adam Craig, Trent Tomlinson and Shane Minor. All three guys have recorded solo albums. Parmalee's sound is similar to Florida Georgia Line. And that might be enough to keep them going. Parmalee's is currently on tour and a new single Already Callin' You Mine will be released Feb. 2. A new album can't be far behind. Here's the video for Close Your Eyes by Parmalee.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Very early in his career, trumpeter Chet Baker did a west coast tour with Charlie Parker. They never recorded together in the studio and Baker would soon join Gerry Mulligan's band. Fortunately, a live recording is available on CD. And though the recording quality isn't the best, jazz fans should get it anyway. This was recorded at the Trade Winds in Inglewood, CA June 1952. Parker was probably the biggest star in jazz at the time tempered by his unreliability due to his heroin addiction. Baker had just moved to Los Angeles from San Francisco and his first big gig was with Stan Getz. He wasn't a heroin addict yet. Parker chose Baker for this tour and it was a big enough deal that it earned Baker a steady gig with Mulligan. And that's the band that made Baker a star. Other musicians were Sonny Criss on alto sax, Al Haig on piano, Harry Babasin on bass and Larance Marable on drums. Haig worked frequently with Parker but not the others. This track begins as Back Home In Indiana and then morphs into the Parker song Donna Lee. Babasin had a friend record the set and the recordings were discovered in San Diego in 1990. This is a must for jazz fans. Not long after, Baker formed his now famous band with Mulligan and Parker died a few years later. So the two never worked together again. Here's a video of Donna Lee (Indiana) by Charlie Parker & Chet Baker.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Here's the match video of Syuri defending the REINA World Women's Championship against Kana on the Dec. 26 REINA show at Korakuen Hall. Of course the rivalry between Kana and Syuri goes back to their SMASH days. It should have continued at WNC but Kana left the promotion over money. That was a sign of things to come as WNC sold their joshi wrestlers to REINA and WNC is now closed. I thought it was a great idea for REINA to bring in Kana as a storyline general manager. With Syuri as champ, it was obvious what Kana would do. So first Kana and reluctant partner Arisa Nakajima won the tag team titles over Syuri and Lin Bairon. And right after the match, Lin turned on Syuri. And that leads to this match on REINA's Christmas show. And despite Syuri's popularity, I expected Kana to win. There was no high flying in this match as neither of them do much of that. What I like about Kana she likes to hit hard and she takes as good as she gives. I've never liked Syuri much but she does kick hard and that meshes well with Kana's style. After all, Syuri is a kickboxing champ. The problem is that kicking is the only thing Syuri does well. So if you like hard hitting matches, I think you will enjoy this. Kana won the match with her chicken wing rear naked choke finish. Syuri had a nap. And in a nice touch, she tried to attack Kana when the ref woke her up. Then Hikaru Shida entered the ring, shook Kana's hand and gave her a Michinoku Driver. So there's your next challenger. That match should be very entertaining and I would guess that the pre-match interaction between Kana and Hikaru will be very funny. Congratulations to Kana for winning the REINA World Women's Championship. Enjoy the video!

Teen singer songwriter Lorde seemingly came out of nowhere with the 2013 chart topper Royals. But it might surprise music fans to know that Universal Music carefully developed her for several years. Is she the next big thing or a flash in the pan? She was born Ella Yelich-O'Connor Nov. 7, 1996 in Takapuna, New Zealand which is a suburb of Aukland. Her mom is a poet. Ella is fascinated by the Royal Family thus the Lorde stage name and that is the subject of Royals. She performed as a child and by 2009 she was singing on local radio with guitarist Louis McDonald as Ella & Louis. Universal Music's Scott Maclachlan signed her but did not record her immediately. She performed in local clubs and went to school. Universal ramped things up in 2011 when they hired a vocal coach for her and then they hired producer Joel Little to help her with her songwriting. Little was leader of the band Goodnight Nurse and he ended that band in 2010 to concentrate on production. Lorde released the EP The Love Club through her Soundcloud account in Nov. 2012. After 60,000 downloads, Universal released it on CD in Mar. 2013. Then Royals was released as a single in June and it became a worldwide smash hit. Lorde became the youngest solo artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 since Tiffany's I Think We're Alone Now in 1987. Lorde won a couple of Grammys including Song Of The Year. Her first full length CD Pure Heroine was released Sept. 2013 and it sold over a million copies. I think the notable thing about Lorde is how carefully Universal sold her. Releasing her EP to her Soundcloud got a raised eyebrow from me. Very shrewd. For me, she sounds like a lot of other female singers. She is frequently compared to Lana Del Ray. Adele seems to be an influence too. The big difference is that Lorde is only 18. She has been on tour for 2014 and is currently writing songs for her second album. She claims the second album will be completely different from the first. Except maybe her fans and record company don't want her to be different. Maybe they just want more of the same. Establishing her identity is a key to longevity and that could be a big struggle for Lorde. That's a lot of pressure for a kid. We'll see how she handles it. Here's the video for Royals by Lorde.

Monday, January 12, 2015

No, I didn't watch the Golden Globes. I watched WWE Total Divas so I could write this review and post the episode video just for you. This week we have the usual phony storylines that emphasize stupidity over common sense. Paige's debut last week was a little bit of fresh air and we get to see her at the beginning of the show having fun with Big E Langston's man boobs. This week, Alicia Fox debuts as a series regular. But we begin with Eva Marie going to a doctor's appointment with Ariane Andrew to find out if she can have kids. I could live without them showing these tests in detail. Then we go to a Bella Twins merchandise meeting to show that Nikki is still not talking to Brie. And then a brief appearance by Rev. Jesse Jackson. Brie is trying to figure out how to get Nikki to forgive her. Later, she tries to convince Nikki's boyfriend John Cena to talk to her. He tells her what anyone would tell her. Leave her alone and she'll come around. Look, I understand The Bella Twins are supposed to be the stars of this show. But the producers are spending way too much time on this one note storyline. Brie's continuing stupidity is mind numbing. Then we meet Alicia Fox who has been in the WWE for nine years. She hangs around with the incredibly stupid Rosa Mendes supposedly because all the other girls hate her. Don't worry, Alicia. You'll learn to hate her too. They show this RAW segment where Rosa's pants were pulled down and we had a moon over Omaha on live TV. Accidents happen. At first she's horrified and the producers play "wah wah" music. Later we get to the phony part of this storyline. Eva Marie and Ariane go out for drinks and Eva Marie reveals that she doesn't want kids at all but she never told husband Jonathan who wants a family. She claims not to have a maternal instinct. You'd think a teenager was talking but she's 30 years old. Obviously she's afraid to tell him. The morning after her wardrobe malfunction, Rosa observes that she has 25,000 new Twitter followers. She thinks that if she stages another one, she'll be an even bigger star. Alicia tells her she's nuts and it should have ended there...but it doesn't. After a pointless segment showing that Nikki is still mad at Brie and then Brie annoys Cena, we go to Rosa and Alicia practicing a nip slip on the hotel bed! Fortunately, she decides not to go through with it. After two brief but pointless segments confirming a) Jonathan wants kids and b) Nikki is still mad at Brie, Eva goes to the doctor and finds that she can have kids. So she still has to tell Jonathan. Then we go to the arena where WWE Talent Relations stooge Mark Carrano threatens to fire Rosa for planning a nip slip. At first Rosa is mad at Alicia for turning her in. But when she finds out that Alicia was discussing it with the other girls and one of them turned her in, they are friends again. Maybe Rosa should be concerned that Alicia is a blabbermouth. Because of her fight with Brie, Nikki is considering not going to a family dinner. Cena convinces her to go and he will go with her. Then Eva tells Jonathan she doesn't want to have kids. Instead of yelling at her, he goes to the gym. Well, that's remarkably mature for this show. Back to stupidity. At the family dinner, Brie will not leave Nikki alone. She's not ready for forgiveness. And I think it's time for the show producers to put this storyline to rest until the inevitable reconciliation. But I bet they don't. The final scene in this episode has Eva going to the gym and in the end, Jonathan forgives her. All's well that ends well, I suppose. Enjoy the video!
Total.Divas.S03E12by watchwwelive

Artist:Bobby Caldwell
Song:What You Won't Do For Love
Album:Songs For Lovers Only Vol. 1

What You Won't Do For Love was Bobby Caldwell's only big hit in 1978. But the song is considered an R & B classic today and has been covered by many artists and is frequently sampled by hip hop guys. Caldwell was born Aug. 15, 1951 in New York City. His parents hosted the local TV show Suppertime. His family moved to Memphis and then Miami. Caldwell still lives in Miami. He learned to play guitar and piano and led a cover band in Los Angeles. The band recorded an album that went nowhere and Caldwell moved back to Miami. Playing in Miami clubs got him a deal with TK Records owner Henry Stone. TK was known for R & B like George McCrae and disco like KC & The Sunshine Band. Caldwell recorded an album but Stone didn't think there was a hit on it. He sent Caldwell back into the studio and he recorded What You Won't Do For Love. Caldwell wrote the song with veteran studio drummer Alfons Kettner. The horn arrangement was by Mike Lewis. Stone wanted to sell the single to R & B fans as opposed to disco fans. So he tried to hide that Caldwell is white. But he couldn't hide that when Caldwell performed live. It didn't matter. What You Won't Do For Love reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. Caldwell never had another big hit but this one song has been frequently covered and sampled ever since. He recorded for TK and Polydor and has recorded for smaller labels for years. You can get What You Won't Do For Love on this budget CD. Caldwell co-wrote the 1986 number one hit The Next Time I Fall by Amy Grant and Peter Cetera. He last recorded in 2012 and he still tours. Here's Bobby Caldwell performing What You Won't Do For Love.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Diana Ross had tremendous success as a solo artist after she left The Supremes in 1970. Her first number one hit was Ain't No Mountain High Enough in 1970 followed by Touch Me In The Morning in 1973. Meanwhile she was out making a couple of movies. First there was Lady Sings The Blues in 1972 and then Mahogany in 1975. The Theme From Mahogany was her third number one hit. So now she was going to record her first solo album since 1973. Motown house producer Hal Davis co-wrote and produced the 1974 Jackson 5 hit Dancing Machine. So he knew disco was on the rise and he heard a demo of Love Hangover at the Motown office. The song was written by veteran Motown house songwriters Marilyn McLeod and Pam Sawyer. He recorded the backing track with Joe Sample on piano, Art Wright on guitar, Henry Davis on bass and James Gadson on drums. He wanted to record it with either Diana or Marvin Gaye. Diana thought she was too good to record a disco song. But Motown owner Berry Gordy convinced her to try it. Davis had the recording engineer install a strobe light to get Diana in the disco mood. And he also served her champagne. Love Hangover topped the charts in 1976 and Diana would go on to have even bigger hits with disco songs like I'm Coming Out and Upside Down in 1980. Both songs were written and produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic. And to think she didn't want to record disco. This budget CD covers her Motown solo hits. She left Motown for RCA in 1981 and continued to have success there for a few years and then returned to Motown. Here's Diana Ross performing Love Hangover on The Midnight Special 1976.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Artist:Buffy Sainte-Marie
Song:Until It's Time For You To Go
Album:The Best of Buffy Sainte-Marie

Buffy Sainte-Marie has been a regular on the folk festival circuit since the 60s and has a loyal following based on her 60s recordings. But she has had most of her success as a songwriter. Until It's Time for You To Go is one of her best known songs. She was born Feb. 20, 1941 on the Piapot Cree First Nations Reserve in Qu'Appelle Valley, SK. She was adopted by relatives of her parents and grew up in Wakefield, MA. By the early 60s, Buffy was spending a lot of time in the Yorkville coffee house circuit in Toronto with Joni Mitchell and Neil Young among others. She signed with Vanguard Records and built her fanbase on the folk festival circuit. Buffy wrote and recorded Until It's Time for You To Go on her 1965 album Many A Mile. It's been covered by many artists. Elvis Presley scored a top 40 hit with the song in 1972. Her protest song Universal Soldier which she wrote after a 1963 trip to Vietnam was a hit for Donovan. Buffy continued to record and even tried her hand at country music in the late 60s. Her biggest hit single came in 1972 when Vanguard pushed radio stations to play Mister Can't You See and it reached #21 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Mickey Newbury and Townes Van Zandt and first recorded by Newbury. This was at a time when Buffy was recording with Nashville session musicians and veteran country music producer Norbert Putnam. That song is not on this comp which was first released as a 2LP set in 1970. Buffy left Vanguard for MCA in 1974. After three albums, she retired from recording and became a regular on Sesame Street. Probably Buffy's biggest songwriting success was co-writing the 1981 hit Up Where We Belong with then husband Jack Nitzsche and Will Jennings for the film An Officer and a Gentleman. Buffy returned to recording with EMI Records in 1992. Her most recent CD Running For The Drum was released in 2008. Buffy Sainte-Marie lives in Hawaii and tours regularly. So you can still see this folk music legend perform. Here's Buffy Sainte-Marie performing Until It's Time For You To Go on the BBC 1971.

Friday, January 09, 2015

The Arkansas Gospel Mass Choir is a spinoff of the long running Georgia Mass Choir. they are currently having success on the gospel charts with You Alone. Charles Moore was a member of the Georgia Mass Choir for 14 years. When he moved to Bentonville, AR, Moore was looking to join a similar choir in Arkansas. When he couldn't find one, he enlisted veteran gospel artist Troy Sneed to start one. Sneed has performed with the Georgia Mass Choir and James Cleveland among others and he appeared in the film The Preacher's Wife. He runs his own church and record label. Auditions were held and the Arkansas Gospel Mass Choir released their debut CD Hold On For Life in 2008 on Sneed's T Records. With their latest CD and single You Alone, they are having success on the gospel charts and appeared on the BET show Bobby Jones Gospel. Na Asia Barnes is the lead singer on You Alone. The song was written by choir member James Edward Johnson and Michael McDowell. Sneed contributes a guest vocal and his pianist Daryl Woodson produced and wrote all the arrangements. This kind of gospel music is not for everyone but this is a solid choir and gospel fans should check it out. Here's the Arkansas Gospel Mass Choir featuring Na Asia Barnes performing You Alone on Bobby Jones Gospel Nov. 14, 2014.

Thursday, January 08, 2015

Though it wasn't their biggest hit, All Cried Out was the first big hit for Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam in 1986. They would go on to have two number one hits and they were a staple on the R & B charts through the 80s. Lead singer Lisa Velez was born Jan. 15, 1967 in New York City. When she heard that Madonna was discovered at a New York club, she would sneak out of the house once her family was asleep hoping to be discovered. She was the youngest of ten children. It was in one of these clubs that she met drummer Mike Hughes who was a roadie for the vocal group Full Force. They were getting into producing other artists at the time. Lisa auditioned and they signed her to Columbia Records. Hughes invited his friend guitarist Alex "Spanador" Moseley to join the group and Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam was born. Their first two singles did well on the R & B and Dance charts. But the ballad All Cried Out broke the group on the pop charts. The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The two male singers on the record are Paul Anthony and Bow Legged Lou of Full Force. They are brothers. The album Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force was certified Platinum. The R & B girl group Allure scored a top ten hit with a cover of All Cried Out in 1995. Their 1987 album Spanish Fly did just as well and the singles Head To Toe and Lost In Emotion both topped the pop charts. They faded after that but continued to have success on the R & B charts until they split up in 1991. You can get all their hits on this budget CD. Lisa Lisa has recorded a couple of solo albums, most recently in 2009. Hughes was in the band The Ernies. And Moseley has produced mostly female singers like Tamia and Keyshia Cole and others. Here's the video for All Cried Out by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force.